Petal by petal you fell in late spring last year;
Since you are gone, my paper's wet with tear on tear.
I am afraid you'd vanish like cloud in a dream.
How can I wish to see you on Peach Blossom Stream?
Your fragrance sweet reveals you have a loving heart;
Your silence shows we know each other far apart.
By the side of your balustrade I'd only sleep;
To tell you how I long for you when night is deep.
Original Poem:
「牡丹」
薛涛
去春零落暮春时，泪湿红笺怨别离。
常恐便同巫峡散，因何重有武陵期？
传情每向馨香得，不语还应彼此知。
只欲栏边安枕席，夜深闲共说相思。
Interpretation:
This is an allegorical poem about scenery, because the place where the willow tree is born is not allowed to be appreciated by people, implicitly attacking the talent selection mechanism and relevant government officials at that time.
The first two lines: the spring wind blows, thousands of willow branches dance with the wind, the shoots on the branches are a goose-yellow color, and the fluttering willow branches are softer than the silk strands.
The poem is about the weeping willow in spring. The most distinctive feature of the willow is its branches, and this is where the poem is written. The first line describes the splendor of the branches and the beauty of the dance. When the spring wind blows, thousands of willow branches dance with the wind. One tree and ten million branches, see the willow's luxuriant. Then write the willow branches of the eye-catching color, tender and colorful. Spring breeze and warm, willow branches bloomed fine leaves and buds, looking a tender yellow; slender willow branches, fluttering in the wind, softer than silk.
The last two lines: In the deserted garden at the west corner of Yongfengfang, there is no one to patronize it, so to whom can this wonderful willow branch belong?
Such a beautiful willow, as a matter of course, should be appreciated by the people, for people to cherish; but the poet's brush, but it is written in a desolate and cold situation. “Deserted garden” for no one to the place, growing in such a place, the willow again good, and who comes to a care? Only to be lonely all day long. On the other hand, those who are not so willow, because the birth of its place, but highly praised, for people to cherish. The poet expressed deep regret for the willow.
Bai Juyi lived at a time when many talented people were ostracized because of the fierce clique struggle. The poet himself was far away from the capital for a long time, and this poem contains feelings about the poet's own life.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Bai Juyi (白居易), 772-846 AD, was originally from Taiyuan, then moved to Weinan in Shaanxi. Bai Juyi was the most prolific poet of the Tang Dynasty, with poems in the categories of satirical oracles, idleness, sentimentality, and miscellaneous rhythms, and the most influential poet after Li Bai Du Fu.
